


Gods and Monsters

by viceroy



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bloodplay, Bondage, But the ending isn't deep despair either, Coercion, Emotional Manipulation, Ion!Kyle, M/M, Multi-Era, Older Man/Younger Man, Parallax!Hal, Rape/Non-con Elements, Reality Bending, Seriously this is not something to inspire warm fuzzies, Sexual Assault, Sexual Coercion, Sexual Violence, Spectre!Hal, The Bleed, Things kinda sorta get better though, not much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 23:24:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5183621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceroy/pseuds/viceroy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parallax comes to convince the Ion-empowered Kyle Rayner to do what he can't with disastrous consequences.</p><p>Set prior to Green Lantern: Rebirth with some liberties taken. Contains heavy and very graphic non-con elements. Read at your own risk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gods and Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> This story is focused on rape, humiliation, and generally bad things. Final warning.

For the longest time, Kyle had been under the impression that Hal Jordan had gone insane. The longer he spent as the only Green Lantern in the universe, he started to begin to get an idea as to why. Sure, Kyle could set his own hours and choose to ignore one conflict for another, or shirk the responsibility for a while and focus on the Justice League, but it still added up. Then there were the brief encounters Kyle had with Ganthet and the time he and Hal had switched lives for a day, and he realized the demands put on Hal were monstrous. It was rarely just his own sector he had to protect, it seemed like.

And then Coast City happened. He didn’t even get a chance to grieve before he was pulled back into duty by the Guardians, and Kyle could see how anyone would snap. What he never understood was why it seemed he never got any better. Hal had been at the center of a crisis, had tried to kill Kyle on several occasions for no other reason than he had a working ring, and that’s just the things Kyle knew about.

It isn’t until now that Kyle could truly understand why things continued to just spiral after he’d destroyed Oa. Hal sacrificed himself so that the Earth and the universe at large could survive what seemed to be a slow death from a malevolent entity that no one seemed to be able to understand the nature of, relinquishing the power he’d stolen from the Central Battery in the process. It was discovered that that power still remained and maybe…maybe Kyle could do something with it. Be better than Hal was.

He’d imagined it to be nothing more than a larger swath of the energy inside his ring and personal power battery, but he’d been wrong. _So_ wrong. Before, the ring and battery were conduits for an energy that would conform to Kyle’s will. When he’d gone to the sun and reclaimed that energy, he’d become more. 

Time and space were a suggestion. He could see the threads that tied everything together, and how he could manipulate them to conform to his will. He could be anywhere at once, and that wasn’t a suggestion of vanity. He’d duplicated himself, sent his consciousness and bodies to the stretches of the cosmos, wherever he could. He was limitless, an actual god. And then, because he could, he searched the past. Watched as the Cyborg Superman destroyed Coast City in some twisted deal with Mongul, and he knew then what Hal knew that had caused him to hunt Kyle so relentlessly, even when he was lucid enough to resist what he was doing.

Coast City could be saved. Mongul could be simply erased from the time stream and things would be the way they always were. Millions of lives- no, _billions_ , because how many cities had suffered this same fate? How many War Worlds have there been to appease Mongul and his vanity? Hal could save them all if he only had the entire scope of power needed. Kyle could do it, now that the entirety of the Lantern energy rest with him.

Hal had only ever wanted to make things right.

Kyle was going to. He’d already made the decision to do so, but he’d learned since then that the Spectre had made Hal its host. Hal had…changed from what Kyle had remembered of him. He didn’t seem the desperate man anymore, but Kyle supposes that’s what happens when your soul is chosen to be the vessel of the will of God’s vengeance. Eventually the two parted ways with a better understanding of one another, and the decision that bringing Coast City from its final fate wasn’t for the best.

It rankles at Kyle when they part ways and he returns to a more material plane of existence. He almost does it then and there just to show that Hal’s worrying over nothing. He’s in control. Why can’t he-

 _Get ahold of yourself, Rayner._ He curses himself in the lapse. The tendrils of desire are subtle in his mind, feeding off of his mind whenever he isn’t thinking. He lets himself materialize fully and drifts for a time and no time. He’s in high orbit above the planet. If Superman and Wally are anything to go by, he really isn’t floating but falling at a rate that it’s barely perceived at this altitude. The part of him that’s connected to everything knows this as well, but he’s ignoring that bit.

His thoughts drift, and he can see happiness and pain on the planet beneath him, drifting out into the cosmos, playing an intricate pattern that’s almost too much to take in. He wants to ease the troubles and increase the positive feelings that are woven through the bad, but he can’t. He’s connected, yes. Galaxies are his cells, stars and quasars molecular structures and atoms piecing together the larger picture, their planets electrons and the peoples of all kinds the properties that make up the even smaller, more intricate processes, and so on. They are part of Ion.

But Ion is Kyle, and Kyle’s only a man. It’s something he needs to remember. Power of a god or not, that doesn’t mean he knows what to _do_ with that power beyond what he’s already doing. And already every day is a struggle. Not to slip and fall. There’s so much he could just _do_ now, and He wouldn’t fail. Not like Krona, or Hal, or anyone else. He’s different. His actions, those are what matter now.

And perhaps those thoughts are why he reacts too late to the attack.

It comes from nowhere and everywhere, a wave of power flush with golden light that sends him streaking across the vacuum of space, disoriented as something all too familiar washes over him. _The apartment is as static as a poorly-composed photograph, bad contrast and randomly-placed objects. Alex doesn’t respond to his calls. He doesn’t really take stock of it; he’s tired from dodging shady men and dealing with what it means to be the Green Lantern. The note on the table only seems mildly odd._ Surprise for you in the fridge. Love, A. _He doesn’t even have time to really understand what it means, because the fridge is still open slightly, and he can see-_

 _-The entirety of the Justice League, come to defend him. The Flash. Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Batman_ Superman _all up against Hal Jordan, the guy he’s just learned was the former Green Lantern out to get him all because Kyle refuses to give up the ring. And one by one they all fall to him and Kyle’s there, powerless. Even if he was enough to contend with the deranged person, how could he ever stand-_

_-ing over Superman. New York City is overcome with a corona of iridescent light, framing a white void that promises the unfolding of the world. Extant was a sham and patsy all in one. It’s Hal. It was always Hal. Will Kyle ever be rid of this man?_

_“Green Lantern!” the Green Arrow calls out and it takes a minute for Kyle to realize it isn’t him the archer is referring to._

_“I’ve taken the name Parallax.” The voice is steely calm, laced with a determination that Kyle’s still trying to find. He doesn’t even look back at his old friend as he talks. “I’ve seen the universe from many different directions, and now I know how to fix it.” He pauses, but no one moves, shocked to see just how far Hal would sink into his delusion. His next words are louder. The corona disappears. New York dissolves. “Even if it means destroying it.”_

_“My God,” Kyle utters, not caring who can hear. There’s nothing but Hal in the void beyond, and Kyle’s mind twists as time unravels and warps-_

_-around him debris falls, and he’s frozen. Some Green Lantern he turned out to be. Guy Gardner’s coming for him, dressed for battle in war paint. “Get your ass in gear, Lantern! This isn’t the time to be checking out the sights! See if you can get the civilians out of here! You aren’t done!”_

_I’m not done._

He pushes himself out of the stupor, wondering how the hell _anyone_ managed to sneak up on him, trying to wipe the fear from his mind, only to see a figure not too far off from him, and he’s now surprised for a different reason entirely.

It’s Hal.

The older man is dressed not in the simple cloak and domino he’d seen him in only hours ago, but an outfit that Kyle’s learned to dread. His hair is styled neatly despite being in zero gravity. He’s dressed sharply in green and black regalia, his chest emblazoned with the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps. Pauldrons jut from his shoulders sharply, from which an emerald green cape flows freely in the void.

Kyle wants to think it’s some sick joke, but the universe tells him he’s changed more than just superficially. The raw power emanating from him isn’t from the strange and unreachable force Hal claims comes from the Presence. It’s similar to his own, but everything about it is _wrong._ The power within Kyle is meant to mold things for the better. The only thing Kyle can feel from Hal is the desire to dominate, and destroy what would resist that mandate. “Parallax.” The word is muttered, but he knows even though there’s no conceivable way, Hal still hears the acknowledgement.

Indeed, the other man’s head cocks after he speaks, and Kyle can hear him just as easily as the other can himself. “You had the chance, Kyle. It was right there. It still _is!_ Why won’t you do the right thing for once?!” Once again, Kyle doesn’t have time to react. The power’s too similar, and Hal’s always been better than him with any of this. One second Hal’s several kilometers away, and in less time than even Kyle can comprehend, he’s right in front of him. Golden energy flies from the man and Kyle’s sent reeling once more, lost in memory for a moment.

By the time he recovers, Hal’s on him, resorting to punches that can shatter planets, but Kyle can take it. He has to, and instead of hurtling toward a collision course with Earth, he redirects their course, shooting past the other man, goading him, willing himself to keep going though it’s getting harder as each successful hit on Kyle’s person feels like he’s being weakened. Is this what the yellow weakness is like? He steels himself and multiplies as soon as they’re away from Earth and the capability of causing it direct harm.

He can see Hal from dozens of eyes now, seemingly surprised by this change in events as each one fades in and out, one with their surroundings before Kyle attacks. Not enough time to put style in it; only pure will. Subdue. No time to send a warning to the League that Hal’s gone rogue. His attention starts to waver and this has to be the toughest battle he’s been in as the cosmos reel around them. Reality can’t take much more than this he can’t didn’t won’t will never fail-

“You have the power. Use it Kyle!” They aren’t near Earth. They aren’t in the Solar System, as far as Kyle can tell. His connection to everything feels tapered off and it takes a moment to realize what’s happened, though it still makes no sense.

Abstract is the best way Kyle can describe it. An old favorite tune surrounds him in a crimson red space. He feels submerged in liquid, though it doesn’t behave like liquid beyond Kyle getting the vague feeling that he’s _wet._ Moments zip by him in tiles, things familiar from his life, his history, his future. Other things that are familiar only because he recognizes what should be him. And still others that are beyond even him, Bleeding through the fabric of the multiverse.

He can’t move. He’s only distantly aware of it at first but as he tries making sense of things, it becomes all too apparent to him that this is the case. He takes stalk of himself and quickly comes to the realization of what’s going on. Something is binding him, keeping him from moving forward or back. _Chains_ the same glowing gold that had been the signature of Hal’s attacks, so different from the emerald he’d grown accustomed to from when he’d last confronted Hal in his Parallax identity. The binds are attached to familiar frames around him in the fluidic prison he’s found himself in.

“Our past. Our future. We can change it, Kyle. Alex deserves it. Coast City does, too. You’ve been asked too much in your life, Kyle.” And Hal’s there in front of him, his eyes gleaming amber. He doesn’t even sense him now, and he doesn’t understand why this is. “I won’t ever exist. You’ll get to live your life without wondering who’s going to be the next to die because of you.”

“Where are we?” Kyle asks, still not quite able to make sense of everything. He doesn’t want to acknowledge Hal’s words.

“The Bleed, kid. You’ll find out about it soon enough if you keep on the road you’re going.” Hal smirks at Kyle, who shifts in the bonds keeping him in place. “And trust me, it isn’t a pleasant one. That’s _why_ you have to do it. I mean, they’ve already asked so much of you. It’s only going to pile on as time goes on. No one would blame you for wanting a normal life.”

“You already told me not to,” Kyle spits at Hal, who only shakes his head apologetically.

“That me? He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s got an even bigger jerk pulling his strings than the ones that started this mess. Scared of cracking a few eggs to get what he wants.”

“If you can do this,” Kyle jerks his head to signify the space around them, “why don’t you just do it yourself?”

“You think I haven’t tried!?” Hal’s voice resonates through the Bleed, back and forth, aging and coming in backwards and forwards. “The power I have right now’s good for a lot, but it isn’t so good with fine details. I only make it worse!” Hal sneers. His tone is becoming manic, his face pressed deep into Kyle’s personal space. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but what you have? That power right now is my only shot. _Our_ only shot!” His voice drops to something desperate, and Hal’s face softens. “It’s the right thing to do. You know it just as much as I do.”

Had Hal made his case earlier, before he’d been forced into this place, Kyle probably would have agreed then and there. He was on the brink before, the green energy goading him, but that subtle voice isn’t as strong here. He can think clearly, and Hal sounds just as deranged as he did back then. “I can’t. Hal, you know I can’t. It’s too much. I change what happens to Coast City, but what happens the next time something bad happens? When does it stop?”

Hal’s face hardens at the argument, and that dread that was filling Kyle hits him again. He’d move away if he could, but he’s still stuck where he is. Slowly Hal’s face twists into a snarl, then-

His sneer turns into a terrifying grin as his jaw widens. Fangs replace teeth, and a sickeningly long tongue laps out from his mouth, curling around, tasting the environment around them. Kyle wants to gag, but he’s lost in the tableau as Hal moves closer. “I knew you couldn’t do it. They’re right, you know.” The words wrap around Kyle, suffocating him with shame. “You’ve heard Ollie. You aren’t me. You’ll never measure up. You can’t even honor the rest of the Corps. Everyone you know will die, no matter what you do. Clark knows this; you’ve heard what he thinks about you. Wally and that kid Connor pity you. You’re an accessory to fill out a legacy. _My_ legacy.”

Hal breathes out and this time the stench _does_ cause him to gag. It’s too much. “You’re not worth the spit on my boot, kid. Give it up and this all goes away. You never see me again. You won’t even remember me, and hey. Maybe you can patch things up with Alex when you see her again. But deep down, you’ll know what you really are. A coward. You’ve only lived this long because of the blood other people spilled for you.”

It’s nothing Kyle hasn’t heard before, but coming from Hal, like this, _here_ sends him into despair he’s never known. He can’t fight it. It’s too much; Hal is right, he-

“Give me the power, Kyle.”

 _“No.” Yes._ It isn’t until he hears the enraged roar inches from his face that Kyle knows which one he’s said out loud, and then hands are on him, tearing through clothing, cutting flesh open, and his eyes snap open with a howl. This isn’t the first time Kyle’s ever been harmed. The cuts are shallow even, but the trails of sharp pain feel like knives, burning for a moment before a chill seems to sink in, causing another kind of pain entirely. Kyle’s blood clouds almost unseen in the crimson backdrop around them. He’s losing his grip.

Hal- no, this isn’t Hal, is it? This is Parallax in complete control- either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about Kyle’s pleas to stop. _I’ll do it!_ Kyle wants to call out, but his throat is tight. All he can get out is a strangled cry as Hal closes any semblance of distance. That tongue- _searching, slick, putrid_ \- snakes out from Hal’s impossible maw and slides across Kyle’s neck as another wave of revulsion hits him.

Those nails come back and Kyle knows that by now his clothes are shredded. He can feel rough hands searching skin, scratching lightly one moment, pressing into his skin to create more trails of blood the next. A hand wraps around his cock and starts to stroke. Kyle’s eyes snap to Hal, shocked once more in the direction this is going. The disfigured face smirks as best as it can, and that tongue, travels up the side of Kyle’s face, as if it’s highlighting the lack of control Kyle has here.

“Don’t be so shocked, kiddo. You know this is where things were headed the moment you came here.” Hal’s voice is distorted as he speaks. Kyle shakes his head, not wanting to watch this humiliation but unable to look away. Hal’s hand works him more, and thankfully he remains unresponsive. “Don’t take it so hard, kiddo. You’re taking this a whole lot better than I thought you would have, besides.” His voice goes lower into what Kyle can only guess is supposed to be seductive but only makes Kyle want to die. “You’re mine now. That’s what this is about, so why not enjoy it?”

Hal’s thumb rubs against the slit of his dick, running the edge of the wicked sharp talon protruding from its tip lightly against him. Not enough to damage, but more than enough to elicit a sharp gasp from him as Hal skirts a pleasure/pain threshold Kyle doesn’t want to think about. Adrenaline spikes in his veins but he remains motionless, getting the message that what damage Hal has done is paltry in comparison to what he’s capable of. Kyle’s heart is pounding and to his dismay, he starts feeling his own reaction. It’s slow, but Hal notices, too, as Kyle’s cock starts to stiffen. “There we go, Kyle.” Hal’s head leaves Kyle’s field of vision, but it isn’t any surprise where it ends up as he feels his breath bubble against his rising cock. A chuckle escapes the elder man and Kyle gasps as he feels his tongue swipe across the bottom of it. “I’m actually surprised you’re getting off on this so soon. It’s _sick_. What would Jenny say if she saw you like this?”

Kyle’s stomach roils as he tries not to think about that, but ignoring his fears haven’t really been on the table tonight, have they? Images of Jenny, Alan, and Donna’s faces ghost through his mind. Disgusted with him, even as he tries to get away from Hal with all his strength, and it’s still so _useless_ , why is he trying? That tongue wraps itself around his cock and Kyle shudders, his thighs involuntarily pressing in against Hal’s head. He’s disgusted with himself even as his body writhes to the sensation, that tongue milks him, sharp fangs grazing him with the ever present threat of real damage.

He doesn’t want to be a party to this any more than he has to, keeping his eyes away from what’s going on. It turns out to be a bad idea, as pain blossoms along his exposed thighs, making Kyle whimper. He forces himself to look, and Hal has a tight hold to his legs, those claws of his digging in as deep as they can go, causing more pain as he moves them around, tearing skin and muscle. He tenses, but that only makes it worse. The pain is a nightmare and Kyle can’t escape. “Please-“ he chokes out through tears. “-stop…”

Hal looks up at him with a sadistic chuckle, his only answer a languid shake of his head. The pressure around Kyle’s cock increases, that tongue moves quicker and not too long after, Kyle’s body spasms with orgasm. Hal swallows up what he can, bracing Kyle’s dick with his teeth. The younger man whimpers as his own movements cause those fangs to pierce skin mildly, and then Hal’s pulling back, lapping the remainder from the Bleed into his mouth.

When he’s finished, Hal pulls the nails dug so deeply into Kyle’s legs out and brings him closer. Kyle’s straddling him in this liquid hell now, his head tucked under Hal’s chin. He doesn’t have the will to fight him right now. “It’s okay, baby,” Hal mutters into his hair, and Kyle can feel the disgusting visage fade away into the more handsome features Kyle’s accustomed to. After a moment Hal pulls back and looks at him. Indeed, the face is normal now, but there’s no erasing that knowing look, or the sadistic gleam in his eyes even as he tries to be comforting. “You did so great, so well, Kyle.” A part of Kyle believes him. He even feels proud despite the growing lightheadedness and revulsion still in his mind. “We’ll make the best team, just you watch.”

_God, please. If it means that never happens again, I’ll-_

Light.

It isn’t like the ever present streaks of gold and red around him. It’s bright white with green tinged into it. Through the despair, Kyle can feel it bathe him. It gives him a hope he hadn’t thought possible here. A will to live.

 **”Parallax.”** It’s Hal’s voice, but this time it’s a reassuring timbre, even with righteous fury burning through every word. It provides Kyle clarity and he wants to hang onto every word, even though this voice belongs to his tormentor. He’s surrounded by fire and the chains dissolve. His wounds are healed and now, the Hal who’s forced himself on Kyle moves away.

The next moments are a blur, but Kyle can tell he isn’t meant to witness it. He shuts his eyes to the enraged cries of Parallax masquerading as Hal Jordan. They quickly fade away from his mind, and familiar hands find him. He flinches at first and tries to move away. They let him, and Kyle relaxes.

Only a bit.

 **”Look at me, Kyle.”** He wants to resist, but something deeper complies. It isn’t the same forced compliance Parallax tried to achieve, but a part of him that warms to the command. He’s safe now.

His eyes open, and he sees Hal. The one who’d implored him to reconsider the desire to revive Coast City. Not his friend, maybe. But definitely not an enemy, either. He’s shrouded in the grace of the Presence, and Kyle offers a small prayer in his head. The Spectre smiles sadly. **”We all have messes we need to clean up. I’m sorry you got stuck with mine. Let’s go home.”**

\---

Hal stays with him when they leave the Bleed. They don’t talk, but share an odd sort of camaraderie after the ordeal. Hal assures him that whatever it was that found him won’t bother him again until Kyle’s ready, but refuses to let him know >i>what the entity was, and why it still lingers when Hal hasn’t been Parallax in ages.

The Lantern energy is slow to return, so Hal keeps him company. Kyle doesn’t offer to let Hal know what happened in the Bleed; Hal doesn’t ask. When they finally do talk, it’s about other things. Safe topics, but it reassures Kyle. Parallax isn’t here, not with Hal at least. 

When Kyle finally falls asleep to troubled dreams, capable once more of defending himself, Hal stays.


End file.
